1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to photographic systems and more particularly to a novel system incorporating a high-speed film advancement or transport mechanism capable of indexing with openings along the edge of the film and adapted to further engage with the openings for moving the film past a picture taking aperture.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
In modern photographic and film projection techniques, it has been the current practice to employ a film reel-to-reel cartridge which is placed into a hand or tri-pod camera for picture taking purposes. Normally, the camera motor drives the take-up reel in the cartridge so that the strip of film is passed via drive sprockets to a picture taking aperture permitting images to be exposed onto the film. Next, the exposed film cartridge is removed from the camera and placed into a projector where the film is instantly developed and ready for almost immediate showing by means of a suitable screen presentation. Chemicals for developing the film are included within the cartridge and activation of the chemicals on the film may be achieved via conventional techniques such as developed and commercially available by the Polaroid Company Cambridge, Mass.
Although the above described photographic system is suitable for home use, commercial use is somewhat limited due to the fact that the camera exposes the film at a rate of 18 frames per second. Such a rate is normal throughout the industry and exposes a sufficient number of frames so as to show a smooth and continued filming of moving objects. However, the viewing of the film taken at 18 frames per second does not provide nor permit detailed inspection of a particular moving sequence such as is often desirable when filming moving mechanisms in industrial applications. For example, problems often times arise during a machine operation when a cutting tool is operating on a work piece. When a conventional film advancement mechanism in a camera is employed so as to expose the film at a rate of 18 frames per second, insufficient detail is provided during the viewing for adequately inspecting and making a determination of tool cutting performance. However, if the speed of the film can be substantially increased, then the viewing of the same operation would occur in slow motion so that more adequate time for visual inspection is given to the cutting procedure in order to determine the adequacy thereof.
Again, it is extremely important in such industrial inspection and investigation procedures to take the moving pictures and immediately develop the film so that the moving pictures may be immediately projected for inspection purposes. Therefore, it is important that the film cartridge employed in such a photographic system be able to cooperate with the high-speed film advancement or transport mechanism located in the camera.
In view of the foregoing, it can be seen that a long-standing need has existed to provide a photographic system wherein a camera is employed to take high-speed motion pictures for instant development followed by immediate projection which includes means for excepting the film in a cartridge and means for advancing the film through the cartridge without binding or destroying the film or its attachments to the reels. Also, it is of great significance to provide such an advancement or transport mechanism which will readily cooperate with the film carrying cartridge so that all equipment such as the film cartridge, camera and projector will operate in a coordinated and compatable manner.